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Sixteen year old Mattie has big dreams, but little hope they will ever come true. Desperate for money she takes up a job at Glenmore, where a hotel guest Grace Brown asks to burn her letter. Later the women's body is fished out of the lake.Mattie discovers grim truth about the murder.
Plot
Mattie is an ordinary looking village girl, from North Woods. In 1906, Girls don't dream big. They are definitely not advised of extending their education from school to college, that to, New York City. Mattie is one such girl. With her mother's death and Brother gone after a feud with Father, she has no option but to take care of her little sisters. After her application is accepted, and with full scholarship to New york City college, she has no option but to hope, against all odds. Then there are letters, heavy in her pocket, with police narrowing down Grace Brown's death as suicide or accident. Mattie knows there's more. But she promised Grace to burn them.
Quotes
* "I know it is a bad thing to break a promise, but I think now that it is a worse thing to let a promise break you."
* “Cripes Miss Wilcox, they're not guns,' I said.
No, they're not Mattie, they're books. And a hundred times more dangerous.”
*There were lives in those books, and deaths. Families and friends and
lovers and enemies. Joy and despair, jealousy, envy, madness, and rage.
All there. I reached out and touched the cover of one called The Earth. I could almost hear the characters inside, murmuring and jostling, impatient for me to open the cover and let them out.”
My Take
I have never read another character that i have been so much emotionally attached to. When you read it, her love for books and words, and poetry, seems so real and honest, not only you become a part of her journey, you start rooting for her to succeed. I heard of A northern light bagging almost every award in young-adult category, rightly so. The novel is for every person who loves books and literature, it's a celebration indeed. Jennifer Donnelly has depicted a beautiful real rural backdrop, its problems and mentality. A grounded heroine that leads us through her story effortlessly. It is the kind of story that stays in your mind.
****/***** (4/5)
Who should read?
Book-lovers, those who are seeking inspiration, Anybody who enjoys a good read.
Who Shouldn't read?
The ones expecting a mystery, murder is just a plain back-drop.(It ain't Girl with the dragon Tattoo!)
amazing quote *There were lives in those books, and deaths. Families and friends and lovers and enemies. Joy and despair, jealousy, envy, madness, and rage. All there. I reached out and touched the cover of one called The Earth. I could almost hear the characters inside, murmuring and jostling, impatient for me to open the cover and let them out.”
ReplyDelete@priyanka i can assure you'll fall in love with this novel!
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